Chapter 2
Nate lay on the floor, bleeding and fighting off blackness. A small part of him prayed for death. He knew evil in his life, had seen humans full of it. And he understood demons. But the demons he fought daily were metaphorical. The fact that this being existed made him question a lot about his life.
For now, she moved on to doing something else besides torturing him. He still didn't know what she wanted but she seemed willing to go on hurting him until she got bored. Struggling, he opened his eyes. Or rather he opened hiseye, for one was too swollen.
Meg sat on the bed smoking a cigarette and watching him. She flashed him a quick smile before crushing out her cigarette in the ashtray. "Sorry. Wouldn't want to kill you with second-hand smoke or anything, would I?"
"You'd rather beat me to death… considerate," Nate muttered under his breath. She must have heard him because she chuckled to herself.
"Much more fun that way but don't worry, I don't plan to kill you. I just wanted to be sure you knew that I could."
Standing up, she walked towards him. He flinched, expecting more abuse but she crouched down and helped him sit up, leaning his back against the wall. "There. That better?" Meg sat down in front of him crossing her legs Indian style and propping her elbows on her knee. "It didn't have to be this way. I had a great offer for you before you decided to play dumb. I hate that shit."
"At the risk of starting the beating over again, I'm not playing dumb. I don't know what you want." Nate's voice a monotone, he realized how unmoved he was at the thought of death.
"Well…that sucks for you I guess." Her chuckle that seemed so seductive last night sounded cold and grated his nerves now. "I suppose I could tell you what I can do for you, Mr. Ford, and see if that will jog your memory."
Nate didn't answer her, waiting to see where she was going with it. Standing up, she walked over to her bag and pulled something from it. He watched her when she returned and tossed it down on the floor in front of him. It was a picture of his son.
"Where…" his voice tightened and he felt so enraged he managed to gather enough strength to reach up and grab her arm, jerking her down to his level. Her smirk only fueled his anger more. "Tell me where you got that, you unbelievably evil bitch. Donotbring my son into this or I will make it my mission to end you."
"Oh, tough guy, now you're really making me hot. I prefer it if you fight back." Twisting, she jerked him across the floor, and he heard the hard crunch of bones snapping as his arm broke. He didn't scream. He wouldn't give her that satisfaction at this point. She crouched over him now, leaning close to his ear and whispering, "Or I could tell you how you could get your baby boy back."
Tears stung Nate's eyes, and he drew a hesitant breath. It was the one thing he would do anything for, and she knew that. But knowing it was impossible did not keep the hope out of his voice when he answered, "How?"
xOxOx
Dean watched Eliot from across the room. He seems to have recovered from the shock of seeing Cas' wings a lot faster than anyone expected. In fact, now he appeared bored while Sam tried to explain the demon situation with the angels. While Sam was oblivious to Eliot's manipulations of him, Dean watched the guy getting more and more information out of his brother than he was comfortable with. He was tempted to shut it down but something stopped him. He wanted to get inside Eliot's head a bit and the best way to do that was let him think he had the upper hand.
"So, these angels and demons are fighting and keep bringing you guys back from hell right? But…why you? And how do you keep ending up in hell to start with? If you're 'good guys' and fighting on the side of the angels, then why are you not dying and going toheaven? Does this mean that there is no heaven?"
"Heaven exists. Dean made a deal with a crossroads demon to bring Sam back from the dead and Sam jumped into the pit to put Lucifer back in the cage," Cas stated in his typical matter-of-fact way causing Dean to shake his head.
Eliot was quiet for a minute and Dean could see him trying to figure it out, but not completely sure who was insane. "Aren't you breaking some kind of code by telling me that heaven and hell exist? Isn't it supposed to be one of the great mysteries? I suppose next you'll tell me when I'm going to die," Eliot shot back quickly. Dean noticed the level of tension in him rising and knew he was about to make a move. Now did they let him 'get away' only to follow him or do they stop him? That was the question, and one Dean needed to decide quickly. He sensed he only had a few moments to react.
"As it stands right now, you'll die…"
"Cas!" Sam interrupted with a glare. "You can't tell him when he's going to die just because he asked. Wait…do you know when we're going to die?"
"Die again, you mean," Eliot reminded him with a glance at Dean, who lowered his gaze to the papers in front of him.
"Yeah…again…wait, don't tell me, Cas. That whole destiny thing caused too much trouble in the past. It's better if I go blindly into the future," Sam snorted and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs.
Within a split second, Sam had been shoved across the room and Eliot flew over the chair towards the door. Dean held up his hand to stop Cas and allow the other man to leave, even as he pretended to be trying to stop him.
"Damnit Dean! Why didn't you stop him?" Sam finally rose to his feet, rubbing his midriff where Eliot had kicked him. "Bastard is fast and, fuck, that hurt."
"We know where he's going. He doesn't have the sword but I suspect he's going back to protect whoever does," Dean answered, shoveling the papers out of his way and throwing a bag on the desk. "Odds are, it's one of the two women we saw him with."
"I cannot find any information on them other than fake names. One changes her name as often as she changes her clothes and the other one apparently never existed until she was on a wanted list," Sam muttered, wrapping his arm around his waist and bending forward. "Okay, next time, you get to deal with Eliot."
"Nope, I get to deal with the blonde," Dean smirked. "Spencer was way too protective of her. She's the one that has it."
"She has the innocence of a child," Cas mumbled, staring into the distance. "She doesn't know what she has."
"Wait a damn minute! Youknewshe had it all along? And you didn't think to share this with us?"
It felt like a good ten minutes before Cas appeared to snap out of his thoughts and shook his head. Dean wondered where the angel went at times like these. "No, I don't know for sure. I just sensed that she…I didn't sense evil from her. If she has it, she has no idea what it can do. Her intent was pure, well, maybe not pure but…not evil."
Sam glanced over at him with his brow furrowed. His confusion let Dean know that, as he suspected, Cas was acting weirder than normal, which was pretty fuckin' weird. He watched the angel for a moment in thought. "Cas, what else do you know that you're not telling us?"
"She's in danger and Eliot might not make it in time."
Cas disappeared and Dean threw his hands up in the air. "Fuckin' useless angel! Why the hell don't you tell us things before you disappear on us!?"
"You realize he can't hear you right?" Sam smirked and headed toward the door. "Let's double back to the bar where we found Eliot. We can work our way from there to their office."
xOxOx
"Parker, just because his com is crushed doesn't mean he's dead," Sophie said again, trying to stop her pacing back and forth. Hardison combed the area looking for anything else to suggest where Eliot was but so far, he had found nothing.
"This is Eliot. He has nine lives," Hardison called out. "Stop worrying. He'll show up any minute now and I'm going to have to kick his ass for freaking you out."
"You and me both," Sophie answered but Parker ignored her. Walking to the back door of the club, she jerked the handle again to see if the place was finally open. She was surprised when it gave way, and she felt a blast of cold air from the club. Walking inside, she glanced around seeing no one. But she sensed she wasn't alone. The door slammed loudly behind her causing her to flinch as her eyes scanned the room, the hair on the back of her neck rising.
"Can I help you? We're not open yet." A woman's voice came from behind the bar and Parker gazed at her curiously. She was sure she hadn't been there a moment before.
"I'm looking for a guy."
"Like I said, we're not open. If you come back when we are, I'm sure a pretty little thing like yourself won't leave by yourself." The man's voice startled her and she swung around. He must be a bouncer or some type of security judging from his size. He licked his lips subtly as he offered, "Or if you're impatient, maybe I can help you?"
Parker stepped back quickly when he reached for her, bumping into a table and knocking over some chairs. The woman coming closer warned her that something was seriously wrong here. She could hear pounding on the door and Hardison screaming her name when she sprinted toward the other door. Not putting enough distance between them, the man grabbed her shoulder and, jerking her hard, threw her flat on her back. She scrambled to get away but the man crouched over her, grasping her arms really hard.
"You smell sweet…like candy…" His eyes flashed black, and Parker kicked him, too scared to scream. Just as suddenly, he was gone, with a crashing sound to her side.
"Get outside!" Eliot screamed at her, heading off the man…or whatever he was…as he came after her again. When she stood up, she yelped in anguish as her arm was twisted behind her.
"Come here sweetheart. Let the boys have a little talk and you can tell me why I shouldn't rip your heart out." The woman shoved her against the wall in time to see Eliot thrown through the air and slamming into the bar. Dazed, he struggled to move but Parker's view was blocked by the woman passing in front of her. "I'll let go when you tell me where it is. Or maybe I won't…but either way, if you don't tell me, I assure you that you're going to watch your boyfriend die just to show you how serious we are." Pulling Parker in front of her, the woman wrapped her arm around Parker's neck.
Darkness surrounded Parker and she felt lightheaded. She struggled to breathe while clawing at the woman's arm. Tears filled her eyes, watching Eliot trying desperately to get to her, despite the man trying to stop him and hearing Hardison screaming her name. Blackness crashed down and the last thing she heardwas hisvoice.
"Leave her alone."
"Don't touch her!" Eliot warned Cas, attempting to come to Parker's side. The angel had coldly snapped Parker's assailant's neck before laying his hand on Parker's face.
The man who had been fighting Eliot, stopped suddenly, threw its head back, and with a scream, a black smoke burst from his mouth, knocking Eliot back to the floor. The hitter stared in stunned silence when the body crashed to the ground.
"Don't kill it. He's human again," Eliot heard Dean say when he rushed past him.
"Who are you people?" Hardison yelled from the door, pushing Sophie back behind him as he made his way toward Eliot. Seeing Parker on the floor froze him in his tracks.
"He's an angel," Parker said softly, sitting up and staring at Cas, wide-eyed.
"You know?" Eliot stammered and glanced at Dean and Sam standing nearby. They looked as surprised as everyone else.
"Of course," the thief answered, not taking her gaze from the angel. "His name is Castiel. I've dreamed about him."
"Gee Cas. It'd be nice if for once you'd share with the rest of the class," Dean retorted. "Could have saved us a lot of trouble if we'd known you could visit her dreams."
"I didn't know…" Cas replied, glancing away from Parker. "She's not marked. I had no idea. Unless…"
"Unless?" Sam prodded him after Cas returned his gaze to Parker.
"Someone better tell me what the hell is going on!" Hardison watched all of them like they had been drinking the 'special Kool-Aid' before suddenly Dean launched himself at his throat.
"You son of a bitch! How did you come back!?" Dean knocked him down, attempting to kill him and Eliot sprang into action.
"It's not him, Dean." Eliot heard Cas say repeatedly. "It's not Jake."
Eliot continued to hit Dean while trying to keep him off Hardison. He didn't know who Jake was, but apparently Dean wasn't fond of him. Finally, he got enough of a grip on the other guy to shove him away then kick him in the jaw. Dean hit the floor but came right back after him like a crazy man. Finally, Sam and Cas managed to keep Dean away from him. When he was sure that Hardison and Sophie were both a safe distance away from the two men, Eliot began pushing them back towards Parker.
"Look, you bunch of freaks, you need to stay the fuck away from my people. Angels, demons or dead guys raised up, I don't care. Stay the fuck away from them," Eliot snapped, wiping the blood off his mouth. Glancing back quickly, he watched Sophie helping Parker up, then turned back around to watch the other three.
"Your 'friend' is a psycho demon-loving killer," Dean screamed and tried to pull away from Sam.
"Dude, I don't evenknowyou," Hardison shot back before Eliot glared at him.
"Dean, this is not Jake. Jake is dead," Cas repeated calmly despite Dean's struggling and cursing.
"Dead, dead? Are you sure? He looks just like Jake…" Sam glanced back and forth between the angel and Hardison. "I mean, it's possible it's him and you just..."
Cas stared at Sam blankly before he shook his head. "Sam, it's not him."
"But…"
"It's not him."
Dean finally stopped struggling and glanced uncertainly at Cas. "Are you sure?"
"Not. Him." Hardison answered, pointing to himself and rolling his eyes. "Can we get away from these insane people? I'm beginning to think the crazy is spreading and I want to be gone before it gets any worse."
"Who's Jake?" Eliot finally asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Dean was calming down and Sam appeared convinced so at least the danger of them killing the hacker was over.
At least, it was over fornow.
"The man that killed Sam," Dean answered coldly.
"The first time you mean?" Eliot ignored Hardison's expression of 'are you stupid?'
"Yes, the first time."
"Are you all finished being barbarians now? Can someone please tell me what is going on and where Nate is?" Sophie asked, a tear rolling down her cheek that she quickly wiped away. She had her arm around Parker protectively and Eliot felt instant guilt, seeing her sheer terror.
"Sophie, it's a long story. Let's get you and Parker back to the condo and…" Stopping suddenly mid-sentence, he looked at Hardison then back at her. "What do you mean about Nate? Where is he?"